Method and apparatus for selecting information in multi-dimensional space

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for selecting information in a multi-dimensional space are provided. The method includes the steps of sensing the motion of a user intending to select information, and determining whether the sensed motion is an effective motion intended for information selection and returning to the sensing step if it is determined that the motion is not the effective one. Accordingly, difficulty in setting a predetermined threshold to a single value can be overcome. In addition, even a very slight motion can be accurately detected without being influenced by gravity and offsets. Moreover, it can be accurately determined whether a user&#39;s two- or three-dimensional motion is an effective motion for selecting information and which motion unit among at least two motion units has generated the effective motion, so that a high correct recognition rate for information and high reliability can be achieved, and a user is allowed to easily select information.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing a motion forselecting information in a two- or three-dimensional space, and moreparticularly, to an information selection method and apparatus fordetermining whether a sensed motion is effective in a multi-dimensionalspace.

BACKGROUND ART

Representative apparatuses for sensing a user's motion for pointing ator inputting information in a two- or three-dimensional space arehandheld space-type input apparatuses, such as personal computers (PCs),personal digital assistances (PDAs), and cellular phones; wirelessportable pointing apparatuses, wireless portable keyboards; hand motionand gesture recognizing apparatuses; virtual musical playingapparatuses; computer game machines; virtual environment exercise andtraining apparatuses; virtual reality data gloves; mechanical impact andshake tracking and monitoring apparatuses; and robot motion informationacquiring apparatuses.

Usually, in order to determine whether information generated by a user'smotion using the above apparatuses is effective, conventionally, amechanical switch or a pressure sensor is used. In other words,according to a conventional method, when a switch or sensor is pushed ortouched on a plane, an on/off signal is generated, and effectiveinformation is identified according to the on/off signal.Conventionally, whether a user's motion for selecting information is aneffective one can be determined by contact on a plane, but whether auser's motion for selecting information in a three-dimensional space isan effective one cannot be determined via the same method.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above-described problem, it is a first object of thepresent invention to provide an information selection method throughwhich information selected by a user can be exactly recognized from theuser's motion for selecting information in a multi-dimensional space.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an informationselection apparatus for performing the above information selectionmethod in a multi-dimensional space.

To achieve the first object of the invention, there is provided a methodof selecting information in a multi-dimensional space. The methodincludes the steps of (a) sensing the motion of a user for informationselection; and (b) determining whether the sensed motion is an effectivemotion of the intended information selection and returning to step (a)if it is determined that the motion is not the effective motion.

To achieve the second object of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for selecting information in a multi-dimensional space. Theapparatus includes at least one motion unit moved by a user intending toselect information; at least one sensing unit for sensing the motion ofthe motion unit and outputting the result of sensing; and at least oneeffective signal detection unit for checking whether the motion of themotion unit is an effective motion intending to select the informationbased on the result of sensing and outputting the result of checking asan effective signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method of selecting information in amulti-dimensional space according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 1 according to the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of step 16 of FIG. 1according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of an effectivesignal detection unit of FIG. 2 according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a feature amountdetector of FIG. 4 according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A through 6C are waveform diagrams of signals input to or outputfrom the respective parts of the feature amount detector of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a feature amountdetector of FIG. 4 according to the present invention;

FIGS. 8A through 8D are waveform diagrams of the respective parts ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a signal extractor ofFIG. 5 or 7 according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of a signal extractorof FIG. 5 or 7 according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a waveform diagram showing the first and second predeterminedperiods for explaining steps 74 and 76 shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of an information selectionmethod according to the present invention when at least two effectivemotions are generated;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 12 according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of an informationselection method according to the present invention when at least twoeffective motions are generated;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 14 according to the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of an information selectionmethod according to the present invention when at least two effectivemotions are generated;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 16 according to the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of an informationselection method according to the present invention when at least twoeffective motions are generated; and

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 18 according to the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a method of selecting information in a multi-dimensionalspace according to the present invention and the structure andoperations of an information selection apparatus for performing theabove method according to the present invention will be described withreference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method of selecting information in amulti-dimensional space according to the present invention. The methodincludes identifying effective information depending on whether a user'smotion is effective, in steps 10 through 18.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 1 according to the present invention. Theinformation selection apparatus includes a motion unit 40, a sensingunit 42, a regularizing unit 44, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)46, an effective signal detection unit 48, a motion amount detectionunit 50, a first comparator 52, and an effective informationdetermination unit 54.

At least one motion unit 40 shown in FIG. 2 is moved by a user. When theuser desires to select information, that is, when the user points atinformation or determines input of information, he/she moves the motionunit 40 in a two- or three-dimensional space. Generally, the userperforms a clicking motion when determining the input of pointedinformation. To sense such a clicking motion, for example, the motionunit 40 may be attached to each finger performing the clicking motion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the motion unit 40 can beattached to a predetermined body part, for example, a hand, finger,foot, head, arm, or leg, of a user. The motion unit 40 may be a member(not shown) of a glove type which is directly installed on the hand ormay be a manipulation member (not shown) which can be manipulated by theuser without being directly attached to the user's predetermined bodypart. For example, the manipulation member as the motion unit 40 can berealized in the form of a glove-puppet.

To perform a method of selecting information according to the presentinvention, at least one sensing unit 42 senses the motion of the motionunit 40 moved by a user desiring to select information and outputs theresult of sensing the motion in step 10. The sensing unit 42 canvisually sense the motion of the motion unit 40. For this, the sensingunit 42 visually observes the motion of the motion unit 40 through amonitor (not shown) and outputs the result of observation as the motionof the motion unit 40. In addition, the sensing unit 42 can sense theamount of motion of the motion unit 40 through the variation ofacceleration, the variation of angular velocity, the variation ofresistance, the variation of capacitance, the variation of a magneticfield, the direction of a magnetic field, or the variation of the numberof pulses. For this, the sensing unit 42 can be realized as a MicroElectroMechanic System (MEMS) inertial sensor for sensing the variationof acceleration and angular velocity, a variable resistance sensor forsensing the variation of resistance, a variable capacity sensor forsensing the variation of capacitance, a magnetic sensor for sensing thevariation of a magnetic field or the direction of a magnetic field, or arotary encoder type sensor for sensing the variation of the number ofpulses. Here, the magnetic sensor can be realized as a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor. The examples of the structures and operations ofthese sensors are disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2001-41560,entitled “Information Input Apparatus and Method Using Body Angle atJoint”.

The information selection apparatus of FIG. 2 can be provided with theregularizing unit 44 for the case where a plurality of motions aresensed by at least one sensing unit 42. The information selectionapparatus may not be provided with the regularizing unit 44 when onlyone motion is sensed by the sensing unit 42. The regularizing unit 44regularizes the result of sensing of the sensing unit 42 and outputs theresult of regularization to the ADC 46 and the motion amount detectionunit 50.

If the regularizing unit 44 is not provided, after step 10, it isdetermined whether the amount of the sensed motion exceeds apredetermined amount in step 12. If it is determined that the sensedmotion amount exceeds the predetermined amount, an information selectionmethod according to the present invention ends. However, if it isdetermined that the sensed motion amount does not exceed thepredetermined amount, the procedure goes to step 14. To perform step 12,the information selection apparatus of FIG. 2 can be provided with themotion amount detection unit 50 and the first comparator 52. Here, ifthe regularizing unit 44 is not provided, the motion amount detectionunit 50 detects a motion amount from the result of sensing of thesensing unit 42 and outputs the detected motion amount to the firstcomparator 52. In contrast, if the regularizing unit 44 is provided, themotion amount detection unit 50 detects a motion amount from the resultof regularization received from the regularizing unit 44. The firstcomparator 52 compares the motion amount received from the motion amountdetection unit 50 with a predetermined amount externally received andoutputs the result of comparison to the effective signal detection unit48. For example, when it is assumed that the motion unit 40 is attachedto each finger, and that a user selects information by moving a finger,that is, by bending or clicking the finger, the motion of a fingeraccompanied with a large motion of a user's hand to the front, to theback, to the left, to the right, up, or down is supposed not to be theuser's intentional motion for selecting information. Therefore, theresult of sensing such an unintentional motion must not be used in aninformation selection method according to the present invention. Forthis, step 12 is performed. Accordingly, if it is determined that themotion amount exceeds the predetermined amount based on the result ofcomparison received from the first comparator 52, the effective signaldetection unit 48 does not generate an effective signal. According tothe present invention, step 12 can be selectively provided.Consequently, the motion amount detection unit 50 and the firstcomparator 52 can also be selectively provided.

If it is determined that the motion amount does not exceed thepredetermined amount, when the regularizing unit 44 is not provided, theADC 46 converts the result of sensing received from the sensing unit 42from an analog form into a digital form in response to the result ofcomparison received from the first comparator 52 and outputs the resultof conversion to the effective signal detection unit 48 in step 14.However, when the regularizing unit 44 is provided, the ADC 46 convertsthe result of regularization received from the regularizing unit 44 froman analog form into a digital form and outputs the result of conversionto the effective signal detection unit 48. According to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the ADC 46 converts the result of sensing from ananalog form into a digital form only when it is recognized that thesensed motion amount does not exceed the predetermined amount based onthe result of comparison received from the first comparator 52. However,according to another embodiment of the present invention, unlike FIG. 2,the ADC 46 can convert the result of sensing in an analog form into adigital form regardless of the result of comparison performed by thefirst comparator 52. In this case, the effective signal detection unit48 receiving the result of comparison performed by the first comparator52 determines whether the result of conversion output from the ADC 46 isused for generating an effective signal.

In addition, according to the present invention, step 14 and the ADC 46can be selectively provided. In other words, when the result of sensingperformed by the sensing unit 42 has an analog form and the effectivesignal detection unit 48 detects an effective signal in a digital form,the ADC 46 is provided. However, when the result of sensing performed bythe sensing unit 42 has a digital form, the ADC 46 is not provided.

According to the present invention, unlike FIG. 1, step 14 can beprovided between step 10 and step 12. For example, after step 10, theresult of sensing is converted from an analog form into a digital form,and the procedure goes to step 12. For this, unlike FIG. 2, the ADC 46is provided between the sensing unit 42 and the regularizing unit 44, sothe result of sensing is converted from an analog form into a digitalform either in response to the result of comparison performed by thefirst comparator 52 or regardless of the result of comparison performedby the first comparator 52. Here, the regularizing unit 44 regularizes asignal in a digital form resulting from the conversion performed by theADC 46 and outputs the result of regularizing to the effective signaldetection unit 48 and the motion amount detection unit 50.

After step 14, it is determined whether the motion sensed by the sensingunit 42 is an effective one, i.e., the intended one for informationselection when the user moves the motion unit, in step 16. For this, ifit is recognized that the amount of the sensed motion does not exceedthe predetermined amount based on the result of comparison received fromthe first comparator 52, the effective signal detection unit 48determines whether the motion of the motion unit 40 moved by the user isan effective one based on the result of sensing performed by the sensingunit 42 when the ADC 46 and the regularizing unit 44 are not provided,based on the result of conversion performed by the ADC 46 when the ADC46 is provided as shown in FIG. 2, based on the result of regularizationperformed by the regularizing unit 44 when the ADC 46 is providedbetween the sensing unit 42 and the regularizing unit 44 in FIG. 2, orbased on the result of conversion performed by the ADC 46 when theregularizing unit 44 is not provided in FIG. 2.

If it is determined that the motion of the motion unit 40 is not aneffective one intended for information selection, the effective signaldetection unit 48 controls the sensing unit 42 to sense a new motion. Incontrast, if it is determined that the motion of the motion unit 40 isan effective one intended for information selection, the effectivesignal detection unit 48 generates an effective signal indicating thatthe motion of the motion unit 40 is an effective one and outputs theeffective signal to the effective information determination unit 54.

For clarity of the present invention, on the assumption that theregularizing unit 44 and the ADC 46 are not provided, a preferredembodiment of step 16 shown in FIG. 1 and the structure and operationsof a preferred embodiment of the effective signal detection unit 48shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the attacheddrawings. Even if the regularizing unit 44 and/or the ADC 46 areprovided, descriptions of the embodiments will be the same as in thecase where the regularizing unit 44 and the ADC 46 are not provided,with the exception that not the result of sensing but the result ofregularization or a signal in a digital form is input to the effectivesignal detection unit 48.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment 16A of step 16 of FIG. 1according to the present invention. The embodiment 16A of step 16includes determining the sensed motion as an effective motion accordingto a feature amount detected from the result of sensing and a period forwhich the detected feature amount is maintained in steps 70 through 76.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment 48A of the effectivesignal detection unit 48 of FIG. 2 according to the present invention.The preferred embodiment 48A of the effective signal detection unit 48includes a feature amount detector 90, a regularizing unit 92, a secondcomparator 94, a first counter 96, a third comparator 98, an effectivesignal generator 100, and a fourth comparator 102.

The feature amount detector 90 of FIG. 4 extracts a portion having achange in size from the result of sensing received through an inputterminal IN2 as a feature amount and outputs the extracted featureamount in step 70. If there is no motion of the motion unit 40, theresult of sensing has only a direct current component, so there is noportion having a change in the size of the result of sensing.

If only one motion is always sensed by the sensing unit 42 of FIG. 2,the regularizing unit 92 may not be provided. However, if a plurality ofmotions are sensed by the sensing unit 42, the regularizing unit 92 isprovided as a substitute for the regularizing unit 44 of FIG. 2. Inother words, only one of the regularizing units 44 and 92 can beselectively provided. The regularizing unit 92 regularizes the portionhaving a change in size, which has been extracted by the feature amountdetector 90 in step 70, and outputs the result of regularization to thesecond comparator 94. The functions and operations of the regularizingunits 44 and 92 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, respectively, will be describedin detail.

The regularizing unit 44 or 92 regularizes input data and can berealized as a multiplier (not shown) for multiplying the receivedsensing result by a weight and outputting the multiplication result asthe result of regularization. For example, when it is assumed that themotion unit 40 is provided at each of a thumb, index finger, middlefinger, ring finger, and little finger, a different amount of a motionis generated when clicking each finger, so the result of sensing isregularized to detect only the component having a change in size fromthe result of sensing as a feature amount. For this, a weight multipliedby the result of sensing the motion of the thumb is set to be largerthan a weight multiplied by the result of sensing the motion of a fingerother than the thumb, for example, the little finger. As describedabove, weights can be empirically determined in advance as havingdifferent values according to the motion degree of the motion unit 40.For example, the results of sensing the motions generated when clickingthe thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger,respectively, are examined in advance, and the results of examinationsare analyzed to set different weights for different fingers.

Alternatively, according to the present invention, different weights canbe set depending on an angle at which each finger is bent regardless ofthe kind of finger. For example, all angles at which the thumb, indexfinger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger can be bent areexamined, and the results of examinations are analyzed to set differentweights for different angles.

Meanwhile, the structures and operations of embodiments of the featureamount detector 90 shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference tothe attached drawings.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a first embodiment 90A of the featureamount detector 90 of FIG. 4 according to the present invention. Thefirst embodiment 90A of the feature amount detector 90 includes alow-pass filter 120, a high-pass filter 122, and a signal extractor 124.

FIGS. 6A through 6C are waveform diagrams of signals input to or outputfrom the respective parts of the feature amount detector 90A of FIG. 5.FIG. 6A is a waveform diagram of a signal input to the low-pass filter120. FIG. 6B is a waveform diagram of a signal output from the low-passfilter 120. FIG. 6C is a waveform diagram of a signal output from thehigh-pass filter 122.

According to this embodiment of the present invention, a band passfilter 126 of the feature amount detector 90A band-pass filters theresult of sensing received through an input terminal IN3, as shown inFIG. 6A, and outputs the result of band-pass filtering as a featureamount to the signal extractor 124. For this, as shown in FIG. 5, theband pass filter 126 can include the low-pass filter 120 and thehigh-pass filter 122. The low-pass filter 120 low-pass filters theresult of sensing, which is shown in FIG. 6A and input through the inputterminal IN3, and outputs the result of low-pass filtering shown in FIG.6B to the high-pass filter 122, The high-pass filter 122 high-passfilters the result of low-pass filtering shown in FIG. 6B and outputsthe result of high-pass filtering shown in FIG. 6C as a portion having achange in size of the result of sensing to the signal extractor 124. Thesignal extractor 124 extracts only the positive or negative componentfrom the portion having a change in size shown in FIG. 6C, which isoutput from the high-pass filter 122, as a feature amount and outputsthe extracted feature amount through an output terminal OUT6.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a second embodiment 90B of the featureamount detector 90 of FIG. 4 according to the present invention. Thesecond embodiment 90B of the feature amount detector 90 includes firstand second filters 140 and 142, a differential calculator 144, and asignal extractor 146.

According to this embodiment, the first filter 140 of the feature amountdetector 90B filters a first frequency component of the result ofsensing input through an input terminal IN4 and outputs the result offiltering to the differential calculator 144. The second filter 142filters a second frequency component of the result of sensing inputthrough the input terminal IN4 and outputs the result of filtering tothe differential calculator 144. The differential calculator 144calculates the difference between the result of filtering of the firstfilter 140 and the result of filtering of the second filter 142 andoutputs the calculated difference to the signal extractor 146.

According to the present invention, each of the first and secondfrequency components filtered by the first and second filters 140 and142, respectively, may be a low-band component, a high-band component,or just a band component. The first and second frequency components maybe a low-band component and a high-band component, respectively, alow-band component and a band component, respectively, or a high-bandcomponent and a band component, respectively. For clarity of the presentinvention, when it is assumed that the first and second frequencycomponents are low-band components, that the cutoff frequency f_(c1) ofthe first filter 140 is 10 Hz, and that the cut-off frequency f_(c2) ofthe second filter 142 is 4 Hz, the feature amount detector 90B of FIG. 7generates a portion having a change in the size of the result of sensingas follows.

FIGS. 8A through 8D are waveform diagrams of the respective parts ofFIG. 7. FIG. 8A is a waveform diagram of the result of sensing input tothe first and second filters 140 and 142. FIG. 8B is a waveform diagramof the result of low-pass filtering of the first filter 140. FIG. 8C isa waveform diagram of the result of low-pass filtering of the secondfilter 142. FIG. 8D is a waveform diagram of a difference componentoutput from the differential calculator 144.

The first filter 140 having the cut-off frequency f_(c1) of 10 Hzlow-pass filters the first frequency component of the result of sensing,which is input through the input terminal IN4 and shown in FIG. 8A, andoutputs the result of filtering shown in FIG. 8B to the differentialcalculator 144. The second filter 142 having the cut-off frequencyf_(c2) of 4 Hz low-pass filters the second frequency component of theresult of sensing, which is input through the input terminal IN4 andshown in FIG. 8A, and outputs the result of filtering shown in FIG. 8Cto the differential calculator 144. The differential calculator 144calculates the difference between the result of filtering of the firstfilter 140 shown in FIG. 8B and the result of filtering of the secondfilter 142 shown in FIG. 8C and outputs the calculated difference shownin FIG. 8D as the portion having a change in size of the result ofsensing to the signal extractor 146. The signal extractor 146 extractsonly the positive or negative component from the difference receivedfrom the differential calculator 144 as a feature amount and outputs theextracted feature amount through an output terminal OUT7.

Let us know suppose that the motion unit 40 is attached to the thumb ofa glove-shaped member (not shown) and a user wearing the glove-shapedmember on his/her hand clicks information by moving his/her thumb to theleft or right. Here, since the thumb usually moves to the left and rightwhen the user clicks the thumb, it is necessary to set only onedirection effective in clicking. Otherwise, when the thumb is moved forone click, two clicks may be recognized. To recognize an effectivemotion only, the signal extractor 124 or 146 shown in FIG. 5 or 7extracts a negative or positive component as a feature amount from theportion having a change in size.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the signal extractor124 or 146 of FIG. 5 or 7 according to the present invention. In thisembodiment, the signal extractor 124 or 146 is realized as a firstrectifier 160.

The first rectifier 160 shown in FIG. 9 rectifies the portion, which hasa change in size of the result of sensing and is received from thehigh-pass filter 122 through an input terminal IN5, or the differencereceived from the differential calculator 144 through the input terminalIN5 and outputs the result of rectification as the feature amountthrough an output terminal OUT8. Accordingly, only the portion having achange in size of the result of sensing output from the high-pass filter122 or only the positive component of the difference output from thedifferential calculator 144 can be extracted as the feature amount.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the signalextractor 124 or 146 of FIG. 5 or 7 according to the present invention.In this embodiment, the signal extractor 124 or 146 includes a firstinverter 180, a second rectifier 182, and a second inverter 184.

The first inverter 180 shown in FIG. 10 inverts the portion, which has achange in the size of the result of sensing and is received from thehigh-pass filter 122 through an input terminal IN6, or the differencereceived from the differential calculator 144 through the input terminalIN6 and outputs the result of inversion to the second rectifier 182. Thesecond rectifier 182 rectifies the result of inversion received from thefirst inverter 180 and outputs the result of rectification to the secondinverter 184. The second inverter 184 inverts the result ofrectification received from the second rectifier 182 and outputs theresult of inversion as the feature amount through an output terminalOUT9. Accordingly, only the size-changed portion of the result ofsensing output from the high-pass filter 122 or only the negativecomponent of the difference output from the differential calculator 144can be extracted as the feature amount.

Meanwhile, after step 70 shown in FIG. 3, it is determined whether thefeature amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold instep 72. The predetermined threshold is previously set according to themotion range of the motion unit 40 can be moved. For example, when themotion unit 40 is attached to a user's each finger, the amplitudes offeature amounts detected when each finger is clicked are acquired inadvance, and the predetermined threshold can be set based on the resultof analyzing the acquired amplitudes of the feature amounts, that is,the motion degrees of the fingers.

To perform step 72, the second comparator 94 compares the feature amountreceived from the feature amount detector 90 with the externallyreceived predetermined threshold and outputs the result of comparison tothe first counter 96 and to the sensing unit 42 through an outputterminal OUT2. If it is determined that the feature amount is less thanthe predetermined threshold, the procedure goes to step 10. For this,the sensing unit 42 senses a new motion of the motion unit 40 when thefeature amount is recognized as being less than the predeterminedthreshold based on the result of comparison performed by the secondcomparator 94.

FIG. 11 is a waveform diagram showing first and second predeterminedperiods T1 and T2 for explaining steps 74 and 76 shown in FIG. 3. Thevertical axis refers to time, and the horizontal axis refers toamplitude values.

Referring to FIG. 11, if it is determined that a feature amount 200 isat least of the same value as the predetermined threshold, it isdetermined whether the feature amount 200 is maintained to be at leastthe predetermined threshold during the first predetermined period T1 instep 74. To perform step 74, the effective signal detection unit 48A canbe further provided with the first counter 96 and the third comparator98. The first counter 96 performs a counting operation in response tothe result of comparison received from the second comparator 94 andoutputs the result of counting to the third comparator 98. For example,the first counter 96 performs a counting operation when recognizing thatthe feature amount is at least of the same value as the predeterminedthreshold based on the result of comparison performed by the secondcomparator 94 and does not perform the counting operation when it isrecognized that the feature amount 200 is less than the predeterminedthreshold. Then, the third comparator 98 compares the result of countingreceived from the first counter 96 with the first predetermined periodT1 externally received and outputs the result of comparison to theeffective signal generator 100 and to the sensing unit 42 through anoutput terminal OUT3.

If it is determined that the feature amount 200 is not maintained to beat least the predetermined threshold for the first predetermined periodT1, the procedure goes to step 10. For this, the sensing unit 42 sensesa new motion of the motion unit 40 if it is determined that the featureamount 200 is not maintained to be at least the predetermined thresholdfor the first predetermined period T1 based on the result of comparisonperformed by the third comparator 98. This is because a feature amountshould be maintained to be at least a predetermined threshold for atleast the first predetermined period T1 in order to determine a user'smotion as an intentional motion to select information. Otherwise, theuser's motion is not determined as an intentional effective motion.

In contrast, if it is determined that the feature amount 200 ismaintained to be at least the predetermined threshold for the firstpredetermined period T1, the sensed motion of the motion unit 40 isdetermined as an effective motion in step 76, and the procedure goes tostep 18. Here, the first predetermined period T1 is set to the minimumtime taken for the user to move the motion unit 40 to intentionallyselect information. For performing step 76, the effective signalgenerator 100 generates an effective signal indicating that the motionof the motion unit 40 is an effective motion in response to the resultof comparison received from the third comparator 98 and outputs theeffective signal to the effective information determination unit 54through an output terminal OUT4. Here, if it is determined that thefeature amount 200 is maintained to be at least the predeterminedthreshold for the first predetermined period T1 based on the result ofcomparison of the third comparator 98, the sensing unit 42 may not sensea new motion of the motion unit 40 or may not output the result ofsensing.

Step 74 may be selectively provided. Accordingly, the first counter 96and the third comparator 98 of FIG. 4 may also be selectively provided.In this case, the effective signal generator 100 generates an effectivesignal in response to the result of comparison received from the secondcomparator 94. For example, the effective signal generator 100 generatesan effective signal if it is determined that the feature amount 200 isat least of the same value as the predetermined threshold based on theresult of comparison received from the second comparator 94 and does notgenerate an effective signal if it is determined that the feature amount200 is less than the predetermined threshold.

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, when it is determinedwhether the sensed motion is effective in step 16, the result of sensingobtained for a period other than the first predetermined period T1 inthe second predetermined period T2 of FIG. 11 is not used becauseundesirable cross-talk or noise may occur when the user selectsinformation. For example, when the user having the motion unit 40attached to each finger moves the middle finger in order to inputdesired information, the ring finger may be moved together, which causescross-talk occurrence. To prevent such cross-talk from occurring, theeffective signal detection unit 48A can be provided with the fourthcomparator 102. The fourth comparator 102 compares the result ofcounting received from the first counter 96 with the secondpredetermined period T2 received externally and outputs the result ofcomparison to the effective signal generator 100 and to the sensing unit42 through an output terminal OUT5. Then, the effective signal generator100 generates an effective signal in response to the result ofcomparison received from the fourth comparator 102. For example, if itis recognized that the second predetermined period T2 has not elapsedsince the first predetermined period T1 elapsed, based on the result ofcomparison performed by the fourth comparator 102, the effective signalgenerator 100 does not generate a new effective signal even if it isrecognized that the feature amount 200 is at least of the same value asthe predetermined threshold based on the result of comparison of thesecond comparator 94. According to the present invention, if it isrecognized that a current time is in the period other than the firstpredetermined period T1 in the second predetermined period T2 based onthe result of comparison performed by the fourth comparator 102, thesensing unit 42 may not sense a new motion of the motion unit 40 or maynot output the result of sensing. This is for preventing the sensingunit 42 from unnecessarily performing a sensing operation during theperiod other than the first predetermined period T1 in the secondpredetermined period T2. According to the present invention, the secondpredetermined period T2 is set according to a time period for which themotion unit 40 may be unnecessarily moved when the user selectsinformation. Alternatively, the second predetermined period T2 may beset to be different depending on the type of motion unit 40. Forexample, when it is assumed that the motion unit 40 is attached to eachfinger of the user's hands and a clicking motion is performed by movingthe thumb, the second predetermined period T2 is set to be longer thanit is set on the assumption that the clicking operation is performed bymoving a finger other than the thumb, in order to prevent two featureamounts from being detected. Here, since the thumb is moved two times tothe left and right for the clicking motion unlike the other fingers, twofeature amounts may be detected. According to the present invention, thefourth comparator 102 shown in FIG. 4 can be selectively provided. Inthis case, the effective signal generator 100 generates an effectivesignal in response to only the result of comparison received from thethird comparator 98 regardless of whether the second predeterminedperiod T2 has elapsed.

The effective information determination unit 54 of FIG. 2 determines theinformation received through an input terminal IN1 as effectiveinformation in response to the effective signal received from theeffective signal detection unit 48 and outputs the effective informationthrough an output terminal OUT1 in step 18. For example, if it isrecognized that the motion of the motion unit 40 is an effective motionbased on the effective signal, the effective information determinationunit 54 determines the information, which is selected by the effectivemotion and received through the input terminal IN1, as effectiveinformation and outputs the determined information through the outputterminal OUT1. However, if it is recognized that the motion of themotion unit 40 is not an effective motion based on the effective signal,the effective information determination unit 54 determines theinformation, which is selected by the motion of the motion unit 40 andreceived through the input terminal IN1, as ineffective information.

For example, the effective information determination unit 54 shown inFIG. 2 may be applied as an information selection unit which isdisclosed in the Korean Patent Application No. 2001-41560 mentionedabove. In such an application, the effective information determinationunit 54 establishes a one-dimensional position of an information screenfrom a first and/or second displacement and an angle, determines theinformation, which is located at the established one-dimensionalposition and received through the input terminal IN1, as effectiveinformation selected by the user in response to the effective signalreceived from the effective signal detection unit 48, and outputs theestablished effective information through the output terminal OUT1.

More specifically, the effective information determination unit 54 actsas an information recognizer disclosed in the Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 2001-41560. In other words, the effective information determinationunit 54 searches for the information which is mapped to aone-dimensional position designated by a user on the information screen,recognizes the searched information which is received through the inputterminal IN1 as effective information which is selected by the user inresponse to the effective signal received from the effective signaldetection unit 48, and outputs the recognized effective informationthrough the output terminal OUT1. Alternatively, the effectiveinformation determination unit 54 searches for the information, which ismapped to the horizontal and vertical coordinate values corresponding toa two-dimensional position determined from the horizontal and verticalpositions of information designated by the user on the informationscreen, recognizes the searched information which is received throughthe input terminal IN1 as effective information which is selected by theuser in response to the effective signal received from the effectivesignal detection unit 48, and outputs the recognized effectiveinformation through the output terminal OUT1.

Meanwhile, at least two effective motions may be detected. For example,when the motion unit 40 is provided at each finger, the clicking motionof a middle finger can be accompanied with the motion of a ring fingerand the motion of a little finger. In this case, the unintentionalmotions of the ring and little fingers must be considered as ineffectivemotions. Otherwise, the motions of the ring and little fingers may actas cross-talk when it is determined whether the motion of the middlefinger is an effective motion.

Hereinafter, in the case where at least two effective motions aregenerated, an information selection method according to the presentinvention and the structure and operations of an information selectionapparatus according to the present invention for performing the abovemethod will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of an information selectionmethod according to the present invention when at least two effectivemotions are generated. In this embodiment, the information selectionmethod includes determining effective information using one motion amonga plurality of effective motions in steps 220 through 226.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 12 according to the present invention. Theinformation selection apparatus includes a first storage unit 240, asecond counter 242, a first feature amount selector 244, and aneffective information determination unit 246.

If it is determined that the motion of the motion unit 40 is aneffective motion in step 16 shown in FIG. 1, it is determined whetherthere are at least two effective motions in step 220. For this, thesecond counter 242 counts the number of effective signals received fromthe effective signal detection unit 48 through an input terminal IN8 andoutputs the result of counting to the first feature amount selector 244and to the effective information determination unit 246.

If it is determined that there are at least two effective motions, thelargest effective motion is selected from the effective motions in step224. For this, the first storage unit 240 receives one or more featureamounts corresponding to one or more effective motions from the featureamount detector 90 through an input terminal IN7 and stores the one ormore feature amounts. The first feature amount selector 244 selects thebiggest feature amount from the feature amounts stored in the firststorage unit 240 in response to the result of counting received from thesecond counter 242 and outputs the selected feature amount to theeffective information determination unit 246. For example, only if it isrecognized that there are at least two effective motions based on theresult of counting received from the second counter 242, the firstfeature amount selector 244 performs step 224.

The steps 220 and 224 may be performed between steps 16 and 18 shown inFIG. 1. The first storage unit 240, the second counter 242, and thefirst feature amount selector 244 shown in FIG. 13 may be providedbetween the effective signal detection unit 48 and the effectiveinformation determination unit 54 shown in FIG. 2. In this case, theeffective information determination unit 246 acts as the effectiveinformation determination unit 54.

Here, if it is determined that there are not at least two effectivemotions based on the result of counting performed by the second counter242, the effective information determination unit 246 determines theinformation, which is selected by a single effective motion and receivedthrough an input terminal IN9, as effective information and outputs thedetermined effective information through an output terminal OUT10 instep 222. Alternatively, if it is determined that there are at least twoeffective motions based on the result of counting performed by thesecond counter 242, after step 224, the effective informationdetermination unit 246 determines information, which is selected by aneffective motion corresponding to the feature amount selected by thefirst feature amount selector 244 from a plurality of pieces ofinformation which are selected by the effective motions and receivedthrough the input terminal IN9, as the effective information and outputsthe determined effective information through the output terminal OUT10in step 226.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of an informationselection method according to the present invention when at least twoeffective motions are generated. In this embodiment, the informationselection method includes determining the effective information usingone motion among a plurality of effective motions, in steps 260 through266.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 14 according to the present invention. Theinformation selection apparatus includes a second storage unit 280, athird counter 282, a first time selector 284, and an effectiveinformation determination unit 286.

If it is determined that the motion of the motion unit 40 is aneffective motion in step 16 shown in FIG. 1, it is determined whetherthere are at least two effective motions in step 260. For this, thethird counter 282 counts the number of effective signals received fromthe effective signal detection unit 48 through an input terminal IN11and outputs the result of counting to the first time selector 284 and tothe effective information determination unit 286.

If it is determined that there are at least two effective motions, afirst determined effective motion is selected from the effective motionsin step 264, and the procedure goes to step 266.

For clarity of step 264, it is assumed that the motion unit 40 isattached to each finger of a user's hands intending to selectinformation, and information is selected by moving one of the user'sfingers. Here, at least one finger near to a finger which isintentionally moved may be moved together or following with theintentionally moved finger regardless of the user's intention.Accordingly, in step 264 it is determined which finger is intentionallymoved based on the fact that a feature amount generated by the motion ofthe intentionally moved finger is detected prior to a feature amountgenerated by the motion of a near finger. To perform step 264, thesecond storage unit 280 stores points (that is, instants of time) whenone or more feature amounts corresponding to one or more effectivemotions are received from the feature amount detector 90 through aninput terminal IN10. The first time selector 284 selects an earliesttime from the instants of time stored in the second storage unit 280 inresponse to the result of counting received from the third counter 282and outputs the selected time to the effective information determinationunit 286. For example, only if it is recognized that there are at leasttwo effective motions based on the result of counting received from thethird counter 282, the first time selector 284 performs step 264. Steps260 and 264 may be performed between steps 16 and 18 shown in FIG. 1.The second storage unit 280, the third counter 282, and the first timeselector 284 shown in FIG. 15 may be provided between the effectivesignal detection unit 48 and the effective information determinationunit 54 shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the effective informationdetermination unit 286 acts as the effective information determinationunit 54.

Here, if it is determined that there are not at least two effectivemotions based on the result of counting performed by the third counter282, the effective information determination unit 286 determines theinformation, which is selected by a single effective motion and receivedthrough an input terminal IN12, as effective information and outputs thedetermined effective information through an output terminal OUT11 instep 262. Alternatively, if it is determined that there are at least twoeffective motions based on the result of counting performed by the thirdcounter 282, after step 264, the effective information determinationunit 286 determines the information, which is selected by the firstdetermined effective motion corresponding to a feature amount generatedat the time selected by the first time selector 284 from a plurality ofpieces of information which are selected by the effective motions andreceived through the input terminal IN12, as the effective informationand outputs the determined effective information through the outputterminal OUT11 in step 266.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of an information selectionmethod according to the present invention when at least two effectivemotions are generated. In this embodiment, the information selectionmethod includes determining the effective information using one motionamong a plurality of effective motions, in steps 300 through 310.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 16 according to the present invention. Theinformation selection apparatus includes a third storage unit 330, afourth storage unit 332, a fourth counter 334, a fifth comparator 336, asecond feature amount selector 338, a second time selector 340, and aneffective information determination unit 342.

If it is determined that the motion of the motion unit 40 is aneffective motion in step 16 shown in FIG. 1, it is determined whetherthere are at least two effective motions in step 300. For this, thefourth counter 334 counts the number of effective signals received fromthe effective signal detection unit 48 through an input terminal IN15and outputs the result of counting to the fifth comparator 336 and tothe effective information determination unit 342.

If it is determined that there are at least two effective motions, it isdetermined whether the effective motions are determined simultaneouslyin step 304. For this, the fourth storage unit 332 stores instants oftime when one or more feature amounts corresponding to one or moreeffective motions are received from the feature amount detector 90through an input terminal IN12. The fifth comparator 336 compares theinstants of time stored in the fourth storage unit 332 and outputs theresult of comparison to the second feature amount selector 338, thesecond time selector 340, and the effective information determinationunit 342. According to the present invention, the fifth comparator 336may perform a comparison operation in response to the result of countingreceived from the fourth counter 334. For example, if it is recognizedthat there are not at least two effective motions based on the result ofcounting performed by the fourth counter 334, the fifth comparator 336does not perform the comparison operation.

If it is determined that the effective motions are not determinedsimultaneously, a first determined effective motion is selected from theeffective motions in step 306, and the procedure goes to step 310. Likestep 264, step 306 is performed based on the fact that a feature amountcorresponding to the first determined effective motion is first detectedby the feature amount detector 90. To perform step 306, the second timeselector 340 selects the earliest instant of time from the instants oftime stored in the fourth storage unit 332 in response to the result ofcomparison received from the fifth comparator 336 and outputs theselected instant of time to the effective information determination unit342. For example, only if it is recognized that the effective motionsare not determined simultaneously based on the result of comparisonreceived from the fifth comparator 336, the second time selector 340performs step 306.

If it is determined that the effective motions are determinedsimultaneously, the largest effective motion is selected from theeffective motions in step 308, and the procedure goes to step 310. Forthis, the third storage unit 330 receives one or more feature amountscorresponding to one or more effective motions from the feature amountdetector 90 through an input terminal IN13 and stores the one or morefeature amounts. The second feature amount selector 338 selects abiggest feature amount from among the feature amounts stored in thethird storage unit 330 in response to the result of comparison receivedfrom the fifth comparator 336 and outputs the selected feature amount tothe effective information determination unit 342. For example, only ifit is recognized that the effective motions are determinedsimultaneously based on the result of comparison received from the fifthcomparator 336, the second feature amount selector 338 performs step308.

The steps 300 through 308 may be performed between steps 16 and 18 shownin FIG. 1. The third and fourth storage units 330 and 332, the fourthcounter 334, the fifth comparator 336, the second feature amountselector 338, and the second time selector 340 shown in FIG. 17 may beprovided between the effective signal detection unit 48 and theeffective information determination unit 54 shown in FIG. 2. In thiscase, the effective information determination unit 342 acts as theeffective information determination unit 54.

Here, if it is determined that there are not at least two effectivemotions based on the result of counting performed by the fourth counter334, the effective information determination unit 342 determines theinformation, which is selected by a single effective motion and receivedthrough an input terminal IN16, as effective information and outputs thedetermined effective information through an output terminal OUT12 instep 302. Alternatively, if it is determined that there are at least twoeffective motions based on the result of counting performed by thefourth counter 334, after step 306 or 308, the effective informationdetermination unit 342 determines the information, which is selected bythe effective motion corresponding to the feature amount selected by thesecond feature amount selector 338 or the feature amount generated atthe instant of time selected by the second time selector 340 from aplurality of pieces of information which are selected by the effectivemotions and received through the input terminal IN16, as the effectiveinformation in response to the result of comparison received from thefifth comparator 336 and outputs the determined effective informationthrough the output terminal OUT12 in step 310.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of an informationselection method according to the present invention when at least twoeffective motions are generated. In this embodiment, the informationselection method includes determining the effective information usingone motion, among a plurality of effective motions, in steps 300, 306through 310, and 370.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an information selection apparatus forperforming the method of FIG. 18 according to the present invention. Theinformation selection apparatus includes a third storage unit 330, afourth storage unit 332, a fourth counter 334, a sixth comparator 360, asecond feature amount selector 338, a second time selector 340, and aneffective information determination unit 342.

The information selection method of FIG. 18 is the same as that of FIG.16 with the exception that, step 370 in FIG. 18 is performed instead ofstep 304. In addition, the structure and operations of the informationselection apparatus shown in FIG. 19 are the same as those of theinformation selection apparatus shown in FIG. 17 with the exception thatthe sixth comparator 360 in FIG. 19 is used instead of the fifthcomparator 336. Accordingly, in describing FIGS. 18 and 19, repeatedportions will be omitted.

Unlike the method shown in FIG. 16, in the information selection methodshown in FIG. 18, if it is determined that there are at least twoeffective motions, it is determined in step 370 whether the amounts ofthe effective motions, that is, the degrees of the effective motions,are the same. If it is determined that the amounts of the effectivemotions are the same, the procedure goes to step 306. If it isdetermined that the amounts of the effective motions are not the same,the procedure goes to step 308. For this, the sixth comparator 360 ofFIG. 19 compares the feature amounts received from the third storageunit 330 and outputs the result of comparison to the second featureamount selector 338, the second time selector 340, and the effectiveinformation determination unit 342. Accordingly, if it is determinedthat the feature amounts corresponding to the effective motions are thesame based on the result of comparison performed by the sixth comparator360, that is, if it is determined that the degrees of the effectivemotions are the same, the second time selector 340 performs step 306. Incontrast, if it is determined that the feature amounts corresponding tothe effective motions are not the same based on the result of comparisonperformed by the sixth comparator 360, the second feature amountselector 338 performs step 308.

According to the present invention, the effective informationdetermination unit 246, 286, or 342 shown in FIG. 13, 15, 17, or 19 mayrecognize which motion unit 40 among one or more motion units 40generates the effective motion selected in step 224, 264, 306, or 308.For this, instead of outputting the selected feature amount, the firstor second feature amount selector 244 or 338 outputs a uniqueidentification number for identifying the motion unit 40, whichgenerates a motion corresponding to the selected feature amount, to theeffective information determination unit 246 or 342. Instead ofoutputting the selected time, the first or second time selector 284 or340 outputs the unique identification number of the motion unit 40,which generates a motion corresponding to the feature amount generatedat the selected time, to the effective information determination unit286 or 342. Accordingly, the effective information determination unit246 can recognize which motion unit 40 has generated a motion selectedas an effective motion based on the unique identification numberreceived from the first feature amount selector 244. Similarly, theeffective information determination unit 286 can recognize which motionunit 40 has generated a motion selected as an effective motion based onthe unique identification number received from the first time selector284. The effective information determination unit 342 can recognizewhich motion unit 40 has generated a motion selected as an effectivemotion based on the unique identification number received from thesecond-feature amount selector 338 or the second time selector 340.

The information selection apparatus shown in FIG. 2 may be provided witha separate communication unit (not shown) for converting the format ofan effective signal received from the effective signal detection unit48, converting the signal having the converted format into a wirelesssignal, and wirelessly transmitting the wireless signal to the effectiveinformation determination unit 54.

As described above, the motion unit 40 can be attached to a user'spredetermined body part. In the case where the predetermined body partis a finger, the sensing unit 42 senses the motion of a finger joint. Inthe case where the predetermined body part is a hand, the sensing unit42 senses the motion of the wrist. In the case where the predeterminedbody part is a neck, the sensing unit 42 senses the motion of the neckjoint. In addition, in the case where the sensing unit 42 senses themotion of a third joint from the end of the finger, an informationselection method and apparatus according to the present invention can beused for recognizing whether the clicking motion of a finger such as anindex finger, middle finger, ring finger, or little finger is effective,because the third joint of a finger is usually moved when a user clicksa key on a widely known QWERY keyboard.

For example, let us assume that a user inputs information in athree-dimensional space by moving a glove-shaped member endowed with thesensing unit 42, and the sensing unit 42 is composed of inertial sensorsattached to fingers and the back of a hand. Here, an informationselection method according to the present invention can be used forrecognizing whether the information pointed at by the motion angle of afinger at its joint is effective or for recognizing whether a finger'sclicking motion for determining the input of information pointed at bythe finger is effective.

Consequently, when a user intends to point or input information bymoving the motion unit 40 in a two- or three-dimensional space, aninformation selection method and apparatus according to the presentinvention can recognize whether the motion of the motion unit 40 iseffective in apparatuses for sensing the motion of the motion unit 40.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION

As described above, considering that a change in the size of the motionsensing result of the motion unit 40 can be large or small wheninformation is selected by slowly or quickly moving the motion unit 40,a method and apparatus for selecting information in a multi-dimensionalspace according to the present invention detect, as a portion having achange in size, the difference between the results of filteringperformed using the first and second filters 140 and 142 having isdifferent cut-off frequencies, thereby overcoming difficulty in settinga predetermined threshold to a single value. In addition, even the veryslight motion of the motion unit 40 can be accurately detected withoutbeing influenced by gravity and offsets which can be provoked by usingan inertial sensor as the sensing unit 42. Moreover, the presentinvention can accurately determine whether a user's two- orthree-dimensional motion is an effective motion for selectinginformation and which motion unit 40, among at least two motion units40, has generated the effective motion, thereby achieving a high correctrecognition rate and high reliability and allowing a user to easilyselect the desired information.

1. A method of selecting information in a multi-dimensional space, themethod comprising the steps of: (a) sensing the motion of a user forinformation selection; (b) determining, using the amount of the sensedmotion, whether the sensed motion is an effective motion of the intendedinformation selection and returning to step (a) if it is determined thatthe motion is not the effective motion; (c) determining whether theamount of the sensed motion exceeds a predetermined amount after step(a) and going to step (b) if it is determined that the amount of themotion does not exceed the predetermined amount; (d) if it is determinedthat the motion is the effective motion in step (b), determining theinformation selected by the effective motion as effective information;wherein step (b) comprises the sub-steps of: (b1) extracting as afeature amount a portion having a change in the size of the sensingresult; (b2) determining whether the feature amount is at least of apredetermined threshold and turning to step (a) if it is determined thatthe feature amount is less than the predetermined threshold; and (b3) ifit is determined that the feature amount is at least of thepredetermined threshold, determining that the motion is the effectivemotion and going to step (d).
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein step(b1) comprises band-pass filtering the result of sensing and determiningthe result of band-pass filtering as the feature amount.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein step (b1) comprises the sub-steps of: (b11)filtering a first frequency component and a second frequency componentof the result of sensing; and (b12) obtaining a difference between thefirst and second filtered frequency components and determining thedifference as the feature amount.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thefirst and second frequency components are low-band components.
 5. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the first frequency component is a low-bandcomponent, and the second frequency component is a high-band component.6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first frequency component is alow-band component, and the second frequency component is a bandcomponent.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the first frequencycomponent is a high-band component, and the second frequency componentis a band component.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the first andsecond frequency components are high-band components.
 9. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the first and second frequency components are bandcomponents.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (b1), a positivecomponent of the portion having a change in the size of the sensingresult is extracted as the feature amount.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein in step (b1), a negative component of the portion having achange in the size of the sensing result is extracted as the featureamount.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprisesthe sub-step of (b4) determining whether the feature amount ismaintained to be at least of the predetermined threshold for a firstpredetermined period if it is determined that the feature amount is atleast the predetermined threshold, and turning to step (a) if it isdetermined that the feature amount is not maintained to be at least ofthe predetermined threshold for the first predetermined period, and instep (b3), the motion is determined as the effective motion if it isdetermined that the feature amount is maintained to be at least of thepredetermined threshold for the first predetermined period.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein when whether the motion is the effectivemotion is determined in step (b), the result of sensing obtained duringa period other than the first predetermined period in a secondpredetermined period is not used, and the second predetermined period islonger than the first predetermined period.
 14. The method of claim 1,farther comprising the step of regularizing the result of sensing afterstep (a) and going to step (b), wherein in step (b) whether the motionis the effective motion is determined from the result of regularization.15. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) farther comprisesregularizing the portion having a change in size extracted in step (b1),determining the result of regularization as the feature amount, andgoing to step (b2).
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the result ofregularization is the result of multiplying the result of sensing by aweight which corresponds to a motion degree at which the user can movewhen selecting the information.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein theresult of regularization is the result of multiplying the portion havinga change in size by a weight which corresponds to a motion degree atwhich the user can move when selecting the information.
 18. The methodof claim 14, further comprising the steps of: (e1) determining whetherthere are at least two effective motions; and (e2) if it is determinedthat there are at least two effective motions, selecting a largesteffective motion from the at least two effective motions and going tostep (d), wherein in step (d), if it is determined that there is onlyone effective motion in step (e1), information, which is selected by thesingle effective motion is determined as the effective information, orinformation, which is selected from information selected by theeffective motions by the effective motion selected in step (e2), isdetermined as the effective information.
 19. The method of claim 14,further comprising the steps of: (f1) determining whether there are atleast two effective motions; and (f2) if it is determined that there areat least two effective motions, selecting a first determined effectivemotion from the at least two effective motions and going to step (d),wherein in step (d), if it is determined that there is only oneeffective motion in step (f1), information selected by the singleeffective motion is determined as the effective information, orinformation selected by the effective motion selected from the at leasttwo effective motions in step (f2) is determined as the effectiveinformation.
 20. The method of claim 14, further comprising the stepsof: (g1) determining whether there are at least two effective motions;and (g2) if it is determined that there are at least two effectivemotions, determining whether the effective motions are simultaneouslydetermined; (g3) if it is determined that the effective motions aresimultaneously determined, selecting a largest effective motion from theat least two effective motions and going to step (d); and (g4) if it isdetermined that the effective motions are not simultaneously determined,selecting a first determined effective motion from the at least twoeffective motions and going to step (d), wherein in step (d), if it isdetermined that there is only one effective motion in step (g1),information, which is selected by the single effective motion isdetermined as the effective information, or information, which isselected from information selected by the at least two effective motionsby the effective motion selected in step (g3) or (g4), is determined asthe effective information.
 21. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising the steps of: (h1) determining whether there are at least twoeffective motions; and (h2) if it is determined that there are at leasttwo effective motions, determining whether the amounts of the effectivemotions are the same; (h3) if it is determined that the effectivemotions are not the same, selecting a largest effective motion from theat least two effective motions and going to step (d); and (h4) if it isdetermined that the effective motions are the same, selecting a firstdetermined effective motion from the at least two effective motions andgoing to step (d), wherein in step (d), if it is determined that thereis only one effective motion in step (h1), information, which isselected by the single effective motion is determined as the effectiveinformation, or information, which is selected from information selectedby the at least two effective motions by the effective motion selectedin step (h3) or (h4), is determined as the effective information. 22.The method of claim 16, wherein the user moves a predetermined body padwhen selecting the information.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein thepredetermined body part is at least one hand.
 24. The method of claim23, wherein the weight varies with the kind of finger.
 25. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the weight varies with an angle at which a finger isbent.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the motion corresponds to athird joint of a finger.
 27. The method of claim 22, wherein step (c)comprises determining whether the amount of the sensed upward, downward,leftward, rightward, frontward, or backward motion of the predeterminedbody part exceeds the predetermined amount after step (a) and going tostep (b) if it is determined that the amount of the sensed motion doesnot exceed the predetermined amount.
 28. The method of claim 22, whereinthe predetermined threshold is set according to a motion degree at whichthe predetermined body part can be moved.
 29. The method of claim 13,wherein when the information is selected, the user moves a predeterminedbody part, and the second predetermined period is set depending on thekind of predetermined body part.
 30. An apparatus for selectinginformation in a multi-dimensional space, the apparatus comprising: atleast one motion unit moved by a user intending to select information;at least one sensing unit for sensing the motion of the motion unit andoutputting the result of sensing; at least one effective signaldetection unit for checking whether the motion of the motion unit is aneffective motion intending to select the information based on the resultof sensing and outputting the result of checking as an effective signal;a motion amount detection unit for detecting the amount of the motionfrom the result of sensing; a first comparator for comparing the amountof the motion received from the motion amount detection unit with apredetermined amount and outputting the result of comparison, whereinthe effective signal detection unit checks whether the motion of themotion unit is the effective motion in response to the result ofcomparison performed the first comparator; an effective informationdetermination unit for determining information selected by the motion aseffective information in response to the effective signal received fromthe effective signal detection unit: wherein the effective signaldetection unit comprises: a feature amount detector for extracting as afeature amount a portion having a change in the size of the sensingresult input from the sensing unit and outputting the extracted featureamount; a second comparator for comparing the feature amount receivedfrom the feature amount detector with a predetermined threshold andoutputting the result of comparison; and an effective signal generatorfor generating the effective signal in response to the result ofcomparison received from the second comparator, and wherein the sensingunit senses the motion of the motion unit in response to the result ofcomparison received from the second comparator.
 31. The apparatus ofclaim 30, wherein the feature amount detector comprises a band-passfilter for band-pass filtering the result of sensing and outputting theresult of band-pass filtering as the feature amount.
 32. The apparatusof claim 31, wherein the feature amount detector comprises: a firstfilter for filtering a first frequency component of the result ofsensing and outputting the result of filtering; a second filter forfiltering a second frequency component of the result of sensing andoutputting the result of filtering; and a differential calculator forcalculating a difference between the result of filtering received fromthe first filter and the result of filtering received from the secondfilter and outputting the difference as the feature amount.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 32, wherein the first and second frequency componentsare low-band components.
 34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein thefirst frequency component is a low-band component, and the secondfrequency component is a high-band component.
 35. The apparatus of claim32, wherein the first frequency component is a low-band component, andthe second frequency component is a band component.
 36. The apparatus ofclaim 32, wherein the first frequency component is a high-bandcomponent, and the second frequency component is a band component. 37.The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first and second frequencycomponents are high-band components.
 38. The apparatus of claim 32,wherein the first and second frequency components are band components.39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the feature amount detectorfurther comprises a signal extractor for extracting only a positivecomponent of the difference received from the differential calculatorand outputting the extracted positive component as the feature amount.40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the signal extractor comprises afirst rectifier for rectifying the difference received from thedifferential calculator and outputting the result of rectification asthe feature amount.
 41. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the featureamount detector further comprises a signal extractor for extracting onlya negative component of the difference received from the differentialcalculator and outputting the extracted negative component as thefeature amount.
 42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the signalextractor comprises: a first inverter for inverting the differencereceived form the differential calculator and outputting the result ofinversion: a second rectifier for rectifying the result of inversionreceived from the first inverter and outputting the result ofrectification; and a second inverter for inverting the result ofrectification received from the second rectifier and outputting theresult of inversion as the feature amount.
 43. The apparatus of claim30, wherein the effective signal detection unit further comprises: afirst counter for performing a counting operation in response to theresult of comparison received from the second comparator; and a thirdcomparator for comparing the result of counting received from the firstcounter with a first predetermined period and outputting the result ofcomparison, the effective signal generator generates the effectivesignal in response to the result of comparison received from the thirdcomparator, and the sensing unit senses the motion in response to theresult of comparison received from the third comparator.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 43, wherein the effective signal detection unitfurther comprises a fourth comparator for comparing the result ofcounting received from the first counter with a second predeterminedperiod and outputting the result of comparison, the second predeterminedperiod being longer than the first predetermined period.
 45. Theapparatus of claim 44, wherein the effective signal generator generatesthe effective signal in response to the result of comparison receivedfrom the fourth comparator.
 46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein thesensing unit senses the motion in response to the result of comparisonreceived from the fourth comparator.
 47. The apparatus of claim 30,further comprising a regularizing unit for regularizing the result ofsensing received from the sensing unit and outputting the result ofregularization to the effective signal detection unit, wherein theeffective signal detection unit generates the effective signal based onthe result of regularization received from the regularizing unit. 48.The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the regularizing unit comprises amultiplier for multiplying the result of sensing by a weight andoutputting the result of multiplication as the result of regularization,the weight being set depending on a motion degree at which the motionunit can be moved.
 49. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the effectivesignal detection unit further comprises a regularizing unit forregularizing the portion having a change in the size, which is extractedby the feature amount detector, and outputting the result ofregularization as the feature amount to the second comparator.
 50. Theapparatus of claim 49, wherein the regularizing unit comprises amultiplier for multiplying the portion having a change in the size,which is extracted by the feature amount detector, by a weight andoutputting the result of multiplication as the result of regularizationto the second comparator, the weight being set depending on a motiondegree at which the motion unit can be moved.
 51. The apparatus of claim47, further comprising: a first storage unit for receiving one or morefeature amounts corresponding to the one or more effective motions fromthe feature amount detector and storing the one or more feature amounts;a second counter for counting the number of one or mote effective signalgenerated from the effective signal detection unit; and a first featureamount selector for selecting a biggest feature amount from among theone or more feature amounts stored in the first storage unit in responseto the result of counting received from the second counter, wherein inresponse to the result of counting received from the second counter, theeffective information determination unit determines information, whichis selected by the sole effective motion, or information, which isselected from a plurality of pieces of information selected by the twoor more effective motions by an effective motion corresponding to theselected feature amount, as the effective information.
 52. The apparatusof claim 47, further comprising: a second storage unit for storing oneor more instants of time when one or more feature amounts correspondingto the one or more effective motions are generated from the featureamount detector; a third counter for counting the number of one or moreeffective signals generated from the effective signal detection unit;and a first time selector for selecting an earliest time from among theone or more times stored in the second storage unit in response to theresult of counting received from the third counter and outputting theselected time, wherein in response to the result of counting receivedfrom the third counter, the effective information determination unitdetermines information, which is selected by the sole effective motion,or information, which is selected from a plurality of pieces ofinformation selected by the two or more effective motions by aneffective motion corresponding to the selected feature amount generatedat the selected instant of time, as the effective information.
 53. Theapparatus of claim 47, further comprising: a third storage unit forreceiving one or more feature amounts corresponding to the one or moreeffective motions from the effective signal detection unit and storingthe one or more feature amounts; a fourth storage unit for storing ofone or more instants of time when one ore more feature amountscorresponding to the one or more effective motions are generated fromthe effective signal detection unit; a fourth counter for counting thenumber of the one or more effective signals generated from the effectivesignal detection unit; a fifth comparator for comparing the one or moretimes stored in the fourth storage unit and outputting the result ofcomparison; a second feature amount selector for selecting a largestfeature amount from the one or more feature amounts stored in the thirdstorage unit in response to the result of comparison received from thefifth comparator; and a second time selector for selecting an earliestinstant of time from the one or more instants of time stored in thefourth storage unit in response to the result of comparison receivedfrom the fifth comparator and outputting the selected time, wherein theeffective information determination unit determines information, whichis selected by the sole effective motion, as the effective informationin response to the result of counting received from the fourth counteror determines information, which is selected by an effective motioncorresponding to the feature amount selected by the second featureamount selector or to the instant of time selected by the second timeselector, as the effective information in response to the result ofcomparison received from the fifth comparator, among a plurality ofpieces of information selected by the two or more effective motions. 54.The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising: a third storage unit forreceiving one or more feature amounts corresponding to the one or moreeffective motions from the effective signal detection unit and storingthe one or more feature amounts; a fourth storage unit for storing oneor more instants of time when one or more feature amounts correspondingto the one or more effective motions are generated from the effectivesignal detection unit; a fourth counter for counting the number of theone or more effective signals generated from the effective signaldetection unit; a fifth comparator for comparing the one or more featureamounts stored in the third storage unit and outputting the result ofcomparison; a second feature amount selector for selecting a biggestfeature amount from the one or more feature amounts store in the thirdstorage unit in response to the result of comparison received from thefifth comparator; and a second time selector for selecting an earliestinstant of time from the one or more instants of time stored in thefourth storage unit in response to the result of comparison receivedfrom the fifth comparator and outputting the selected time, wherein theeffective information determination unit determines information, whichis selected by the sole effective motion, as the effective informationin response to the result of counting received from the fourth counteror determines information, which is selected by an effective motioncorresponding to the feature amount selected by the second featureamount selector or to the time selected by the second time selector, asthe effective information in response to the result of comparisonreceived from the fifth comparator, among a plurality of pieces ofinformation selected by the two or more effective motions.